The present invention relates to retail terminals and more specifically to a dynamic key terminal including a choice-driven interface.
Within the retail environment, operation of current terminals by employees is not intuitive. Employees must receive training and use the terminals for a predetermined amount of time in order to become proficient at operating the terminals. Inexperienced operators cause delays in the checking lines and are prone to making mistakes.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an input terminal and an interface that are intuitive for inexperienced employees to operate and which reduces the likelihood of errors by employees.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a dynamic key terminal including a choice-driven interface is provided. A display displays choices vertically on one side of the display to an operator. A first keypad, vertically oriented in the front surface of the housing adjacent the choices displayed by the display, is used by an operator for entering choices. A second keypad adjacent the first keypad is used by the operator to enter item information. The terminal may also have a card reader. A processor controls operation of the terminal and executes a graphic user interface including a plurality of overlays wherein each overlay is associated with a choice selected by the operator using the first keypad.
A method for guiding an operator through a retail transaction is also disclosed. The method employs multi-pathing as a tool to complete a transaction. Multi-pathing may be defined as providing a plurality of ways to accomplish the same function. The present invention employs the choice-driven actuators and the keypad to accomplish multi-pathing. For example, if the choice is to modify an item entry, the possible ways to modify an item entry may include various combinations of actuator and keypad entries.
The method begins with the processor displaying a first overlay of the choice-driven interface, which contains a choice to enter information about an item to be purchased by a customer. The processor records the information entered by the operator. The processor displays the item information as part of the first overlay. The processor displays additional choices for modifying the item information as part of the first overlay. The processor displays a second overlay containing payment choices. Finally, the processor records the payment choice entered by the operator through a keypad adjacent the choices.
Additional steps may include displaying a third overlay containing payment amount choices and total cost information by the processor, recording a payment amount choice entered by the operator through the keypad adjacent the choices, and displaying a fourth overlay containing a representation of change information, if the payment amount choice is more than the total cost, by the processor.
The method also includes steps for displaying an overlay on a retail terminal, including the steps of establishing left and right portions of the overlay; providing operator choices within the right portion of the overlay; displaying the operator choices; establishing top, middle, and bottom areas within the left portion of the overlay; providing overlay title information within the top portion of the overlay; providing an item list within the middle portion of the overlay; providing payment information within the bottom portion of the overlay; and displaying the top, middle, and bottom portions.
It is a feature of the present invention that the keys with the keypad associated with the choices displayed in the choice-driven interface change their functions as the overlays change.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a dynamic key terminal including a choice-driven interface.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dynamic key terminal including a choice-driven interface which is intuitive to use and which guides an operator through a retail transaction with minimal supervisor intervention.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dynamic key terminal including a choice-driven interface which includes a plurality of overlays wherein each overlay includes choices that are recorded by an operator using a keypad adjacent the choices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a dynamic key terminal which includes a display for displaying a choice-driven interface, a plurality of choice buttons adjacent the display, and a keypad, all within a housing that has a small footprint on the checkout counter.